May 11 Direct To You (Next Day Air, part 3)

Between the lines
"Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto Thee will I pray. My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee and will look up." (Psalm 5:2-3)

I like the idea of having direction for my life. But sometimes, life can get so out of whack that looking for the simple direction that seems to have eluded you in light of recent events (whatever crises they may be), can be hard. God never puts on you more than you can handle. Know this. It might sound like a platitude and homily but God knows what He's doing even when you don't.

I like this quote: "Art, like morality consists of drawing the line somewhere." G. K. Chesterton

I like it because it starts--and therefore seeks to encapsulate--as subjective and broad a topic as you're likely to know (art, or morality for that matter), with simplicity. God is the same. I find that most people seek to delve into things of complexity from the center. Like trying to sort through swamp water. You're doing it all wrong. As complex and impenetrable a thing as this universe is, it started with simplicity. Whether you assent to the Big Bang or you believe that God spoke things and started from there, it's simple. It's irreducibly complex and direct when taken on from the ground up. Jesus tells Martha that "But one thing is needful" (Luke 10:41). Any number of things could she have been doing, and rightfully so. "Guiding the house" (1 Timothy 5:14) takes all our time and attention. If we neglect it then that's our fault and it's to our detriment. Thing about Mary and Martha though was that Jesus was in the house. Literally. As He is most important and commands utmost respect and attention, we'd do well to place him at the top of our docket. So unless He stops by for coffee or a chat (or both), best to do the task at hand and stay focused on Him in our heart and mind. I got off on a tangent there.

"For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line; here a little, and there a little. For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people." (Isaiah 28:10-11)

Lines of code

"And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain." (Mark 7:35)

I think the more we endeavor to know God (i.e. Jesus), as did Mary, the more we'll shed any layers of pretense and affectation and double-speak. Granted, Jesus healed the man in the above verse from a speech impediment. But if we're not as direct as we want, could the same be said for us? The closer we get to God, the more we'll say what we mean and mean what we say. The Holy Spirit is the same, too. Jesus, in speaking of Him, says "whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak." (John 16:13) Now, we're not simply robots for God's sake. When you truly see the Father and how kind, loving, merciful and nice He is (not to mention intelligent), then you'll trust that He knows things better than you, or in my case, me. He does. I cannot figure out the complexity of my circumstances with reference to what I want out of life, on my own. You could chock up the effectiveness and acuity of my mental processes now as opposed to sometime before when I was confused and depressed to simple neural alignment (there's that word again: line--almost) and a more efficient wiring. Or, I could say that God has cleared up the spiritual air that sought to claim the territory I was meant to conquer for God's sake. Yes, this all may sound weird and super-flighty, I'm just being direct.

See, if the idea of Jesus being the only way to the Father bothers you. Or the fact that Jesus spoke words that irk you in some way with reference to the state of the world as viewed through a naturalist or atheistic perspective, deal with it. And in no way am I seeking to be rude. What I mean is, struggle with it. If you think or believe that He could be out there and if you're willing to admit that you maybe don't know it all (I certainly don't), take Him on. He longs to come in and make Himself at home in your heart.

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)